Sides of a soul
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: A collection of one-shots. Sometimes, when you are fighting a great evil, you forget the important parts of life. You forget to laugh or smile. This is for them to remember. 9. They are lost and it's all her fault. She's lucky he's there. --Soul, Maka
1. Birthday Present

Community: 31 days

**Community****: **31 days  
**Day/Theme:** Sept 4/a happy thursday to you  
**Fandom:** Soul Eater  
**Pairing:** Black Star/Tsubaki  
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_Present_

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"Tsubaki, transform!" he shouted as they ran into an alley. She didn't hesitate, following his orders immediately, and turned into a sickle. Black Star turned around to face the slowly approaching target, swinging Tsubaki around as he quickly looked around to see where their target was going.

His target, a serial killer with thick grey hair, zigzagged in front of the young technician and gave a smirk. Running around the boy in circles, hoping to confuse him long enough to attack, the target suddenly leaped into the air and attacked Black Star.

Instantly, the fight began and Black Star started to dodge. Left, right, right again, the swings kept coming and it was all he could do was dodge. That killer was _fast_.

(Though, not fast enough. After all, he was Black Star and Black Star was amazing and awesome and—

was that a cut? Hell no. This means _war_.)

Black Star growled as his arm started to bleed and quickly swung Tsubaki at his target. Closing his eyes for a moment, he snapped them open and narrowed them. Using the training he had been practicing for years and lay dormant in his body until he needed them, Black Star speed up.

He turned the tables and now he was the one attacking.

Normally, he'd try to kill their target in a flashy way but today, a thursday, was Tsubaki's birthday and he wanted to get her this gift. Any other day he'd leave and bind his time until he could defeat the opponent in a manner befitting Black Star.

(Because there should not be a single soul that was captured in an easy and simple way. How could he let the masses think of his captures in that way?)

Not today, though. And definetly not for his own selfish reasons when Tsubaki needed this.

She's always helping him, so this one time, he'd be the one saving her. This time he'd help her and he'd make her realize that she wasn't helping him for nothing, that he took her for granted.

Using his speed and strength, he quickly stabbed the serial killer several times before stopping and standing over the collapsed body.

(Oh yes, Black Star was _good_. No, not only good, but **great**.)

Their target died quickly, bleeding profusely from the wound he recieved, and before Tsubaki could eat his soul, Black Star quickly whispered, "Happy birthday," and she swallowed it.

"I..." she froze when she realized what had just happened. She had done it, she had managed to actually do it, she had—

And it was all thanks to him.

"I did it!" she hugged him, tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you, Black Star, thank you so much for this. I...I don't know what to say...I..."

Black Star grinned proudly. "Of course I did! I'm amazing and awesome! And filled with all sorts of wonderful power!" his eyes softened then, "Happy birthday," he repeated.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, "Really, that was the best present I could ever get."

The sun was rising and the pair walked out of the alley, heading off to find a portal.

"Hey," Black Star smiled and Tsubaki noticed that he had _that_ look on his face. The one he got whenever he was planning something bad.

"You know, I'm feeling really dirty right now. Before we go back, why don't be take a bath?" he pointed to a public baths building, "There is a perfect place."

She hesitated for a moment. Tsubaki was feeling rather dirty and grimy from the night before but—

"We still have time to get back. And you have blood on your hair. Wouldn't you like to wash it?"

"Ye—Black Star, no peeking," she frowned at him, realizing where this was going. They were heading towards the bath anyways and she knew better than to protest about that.

"Hey, I don't peek. Black Star has better class than that," he sounded offended and she nearly apologized. Nearly because then he finished his sentence, "I _spy_."

"…" she sighed but didn't hit him. She'd let him have his fun today.

(Of course, when she caught him she'd hit him. But she'd let him at least try to spy.)

After all, he had just turned her into a death sycthe.

Happy birthday indeed.

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**A/N:** So this will be a one-shot series. Not only Black Star and Tsubaki, but a collection of different characters and pairings. Feel free to request or critise.

Review!


	2. Strength

**Day/Prompt:** August 17//Stop whispering; start shouting.

**Characters:** Maka, Chrona

**For: **_PointMeTo.. _I was unsure if you wanted a yuri pairing or just friendship, so I stuck with friendship. If it was yuri, just review and I'll make another one.

And this grew a lot longer than I expected…

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_Strength_

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"Hey, Chrona," Maka says, glancing back to the girl, "Follow me."

"…" Chrona remains silent, before hesitantly asking, "Why?"

"You'll see." She winks, before grabbing Chrona's hand. She nearly recoils from the touch (_mommy, I'll do better, please don't hit me_) but Maka holds on firmly. "Follow me."

Maka turns around, starting to run and pulls the girl behind her.

_Her hand is warm_, Chrona thinks, _and soft. And kind. Definitely kind._

Nothing like the child-like hands from her dreams, the ones that ghosted over her face, fingernails scraping at her cheek.

They run, the two of them, down the school corridors and out into the courtyard. The air rushes past her face and they go faster. The world is a colourful blur and it is almost too soon when they stop running.

Breathless, Chrona stares at Maka.

"Hmm…I guess we'll have to do it later. I'll come get you in the evening." She gives an exasperated look as Soul and her father approach them and then smiles apologetically. "Is that ok?"

Chrona nods, softly. She doesn't mind waiting because she has already experienced something amazing and that is enough for her.

-x-

"It's a party," Maka tells her, showing her into the apartment. "I nearly forgot to invite you but everyone is going to be there."

"Oh," Chrona says. She goes through the door, the room dark and foreboding, and she is teleported into another place. To a room where nightmares were real and hurt and made you bleed blood that wasn't blood.

"Come on," Maka pushes her and Chrona nearly screams. _Please don't push me in there, please don't,_ and she is before her mother now_, please mommy, don't do it_.

The lights flicker on and suddenly a short blonde girl (Patty?) hugs her. "Merry Christmas!"

"Christmas?" Chrona says the foreign word, trying to remember what it means.

"You know, presents and songs and—"

"I think you're suffocating her," Soul remarks and Chrona is suddenly let go. The warmth disappears and she feels cold.

-x-

**Oh, so you like being touched now? Like being held? **

_Stop it. Don't try to come out. Don't bully me._

**Like you can control me.**

_I…I don't want you to hurt me._

**I can hurt you in so many other ways, little girl. You're weak like that.**

_I know_

-x-

"Chrona, try again. Louder. Stronger. Just try, ok?"

"But…Maka…I…"

"See? This is what I meant. Don't apologize. If you want something, say it. Don't be afraid to say what you are thinking."

"It's…" It's hopeless. She can't say what she wants any more than she can control her partner. She can't even tell Maka that it is hopeless.

"Chrona, try! If you don't, you'll never get it." Maka looks hopefully at her.

"I…I want…" Chrona tries again, tries to be loud and forceful. "I want ice-cream."

"Well…you were nearly there?"

No, she wasn't. It was a whisper, a quiet sentence, and Chrona knows she has disappointed Maka.

She always manages to disappoint someone. Just like her mother, Maka will want to leave her because Chrona never succeeds.

Ice-cream appears before her eyes. "Here, take it," Maka says, pushing it into Chrona's hands. "At the very least, we're getting somewhere."

"Why?" Chrona can't understand why this strong girl, this beautiful girl, this brave girl is even trying to help her. She's weak, pathetic, worthless and there is nothing appealing about being with her.

"We're friends," Maka said simply, licking her chocolate ice-cream. "Why not?"

-x-

**Friendship? As if. Friends only exist to hurt you.**

_She…she means it._

**You mother loved you and then abandoned you.**

_But…but…Maka…she's different._

**Sure. Everyone is. She'll hurt you in a different way. **

_Please stop. Stop saying that. Stop pulling my hair. Stop._

**Or what?**

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**I thought so.**

-x-

"Sometimes," Maka tells her, "It hurts."

Chrona stares at her, eyes wide. This is a rare showing of fragility. There is no confidence in her words, no strength in her eyes. All that's there is defeat.

"It…it does?"

"He's so headstrong, sometimes. He won't listen to me, or let me help him when I want to and…it hurts because he is doing something reckless again. And I'm not there. I can't do anything."

She can't really think of how to reply to that. Maka has always been the brave one, the one who knew what she was doing. She has always been perfect, everything that Chrona wanted to be.

And now Maka is the lost one, the broken one. She is like Chrona and that is a hard pill to swallow.

They both are silent, sitting on a bench and staring into a park. After a few minutes, Maka pats her cheeks and smiles at Chrona. "But then again, I'm like that myself."

All of sudden, the Maka Chrona admires has returned and is standing there like nothing happened.

_Oh,_ Chrona realizes, _This is what it means to be brave._

-x-

**Hmm? Why aren't you screaming? Or crying even? You normally do that when I hit you.**

_I…I'm not going to cry._

**Oh, the brave one now? Let's see how long that lasts.**

_I'm not going to…I'm not going to let you hurt me._

**Like you can stop me. Isn't high time you gave up?**

_I'm…I'm going to be strong. I'm going to fight back. _

**Sure. Like you can do that. Tell me how.**

_Just wait and see._

-x-

Maka has taught Chrona many things. She taught her that a touch can be warm and caring. It can be supportive and strong. She taught her that failing doesn't always give disappointment and there is always a second chance (or a third). Maka showed that crying isn't a weakness; everyone does it.

It's what happens after that's important.

You keep moving.

Chrona thinks she can stand now. And maybe soon, she can run.

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	3. Rebound

**Day/Prompt:** Oct 9 // same time, same place

**Pairing:** Maka/Soul

**A/N:** And here's number three…^-^ This came out…worse than I expected—I couldn't find a good way to express what I wanted…D:

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_Boomerang_

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"You're an idiot," she roared, throwing a plate at his head. It crashed behind him as he ducked. "A freaking idiot!" She looked on the counter, her pigtails whipping around her face, and grabbed another plate.

"Hey." He finally spoke, and she ignored the pleasant thrill that came with the sound of his voice. "Stop breaking all of our plates."

"That's all you have to say? After getting yourself hurt again, that's all you have to say?" she screeched, hurling it at him again.

"What do you want me to say? _I'm sorry_? _I won't do it again_?" He raised an eyebrow. "We both know I'd be lying, Maka."

Yes, she knew all too well. After all, this happened last week and the week before that.

But that still didn't make it right.

"Besides." He ran a hand through his hair. "You deal with your problems privately too."

"And you get annoyed with that, Soul." She clenched her hands. "You get angry and ignore me and then yell and—"

She stopped talking. It was happening again. She could tell by the expression on his face he wasn't listening to her. He wasn't, just like all the other times, trying to understand.

"Screw it. I'm leaving." She ran out the front door, slamming it behind her, and scrambled down the nearby stairs.

He didn't run after her.

She expected that, he never did. Probably because she would always come back. Just like he does when he disappears.

Even after fighting, spitting curses and hurling vases, she'd end up back at their apartment. She'd return to him, a boomerang, for every path lead back to him. No matter what they did.

After all, they were too alike, too independent, to live without fighting. They needed to keep their secrets, keep their problems to themselves.

But they were too dependent on each other to live alone. Strength, safety, courage, all those things (and more) came when they were together.

Soul never chased Maka because he knew she would return. There was no point in chasing her when she would come back later, calmed down and relaxed.

She knew that as well. Walking down the empty streets, she thought, _still it would be nice if he would run after me. Just once._

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**A/N:** Long wait because of school work, but I hope to update this at least three times during winterbreak, if not more. If I don't, feel free to attack me with flaming PMs, it probably will motivate me.


	4. Love is Blind

**Title:** Love is blind

**Fandom:** Soul Eater

**Day/Theme:** August 23 (2007)/ Look at the follies of love

**Pairing:** Death the kid/Maka

**A/N:** Um…I wanted to try it out. And humour, which is why this is crack-ish.

I seriously can't wait for next month's themes—they sound so pretty and amazing…

(And, in case you are wondering about the date, I keep a collection of all the prompts I haven't used. They might be useful.)

On a side note, sorry for the long wait till I update. I'll post soon. I'll _try_ to post soon. I wish I had really good writing to tempt you back with but this will have to do.

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It was a strange day, a very strange day, when Patty and Liz noticed something had changed with Death the Kidd. Actually, it was more like Liz noticed it and the day was ridiculously perfect.

Too perfect, almost. There were nearly no mishaps with Kidd—no screaming at the sight of his hair, no yelling at Liz for not being like her sister, no fainting. It was like being on a holiday, it was so perfect. Liz almost found herself wishing everyday could be like this day, except she realized just how weird it would be.

She spent the day a little paranoid as Kidd even went to school. He was still the brat, insulting the teacher, but he stayed at school all day.

Liz accepted that. After all, he probably would get in trouble if he spent so long away from school and he wouldn't want his attendance record to be marred with an uneven number of absences or a big red mark.

It was when Soul passed a crooked painting with only cringing, squinting, and a little running away that Liz grew suspicious.

Obviously, something had to be wrong with him.

-x-

Tsubaki glanced at Liz in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, the Kidd has been too perfect, so I knew something must be going wrong." Liz sat beside the girl, watching her sister eat. Kidd was nearby, having let himself get dragged to the table where his friends were sitting. That was another odd thing. He hated eating in the cafeteria. "What do you think?"

"I wish Black Star had a day like that," Tsubaki sighed. "We might actually pass our assignments then."

Liz frowned. "I'm serious, something is wrong with him."

Tsubaki watched Soul, Kidd, Black Star, and Maka for a few minutes. "Hmm…" Tsubaki said after a while.

Liz rested her head on the table. She was obviously not going to get to the bottom of this.

"Well," Tsubaki finally continued, when they had a few minutes left to get to class. "I did notice he was with Soul and Maka a lot. And when Soul asked him to go to their apartment, he didn't protest as much."

Twitching, Liz groaned. "Again? We're going to their place again? He's been…" Stopping herself, she considered it for a moment. They had been going to Soul's place a lot. And Soul had invited them.

Kidd was practically skipping in front of them. Or at least, as happy as he ever acted around them.

…That couldn't mean that Kidd was in love, could it?

-x-

"Maka! Stop laughing!" Liz flushed, embarrassed. "Come on, it makes sense."

"What? That Kidd is in love with Soul? Are you sure he's gay even?" Maka snorted again, glad the two boys weren't in the room for once to hear this. Soul would have…

Ohh…blackmail material. Maka grinned happily.

"Maybe. Two guys together, that would give some sort of symmetry. He might like that," Liz argued. "I wish he'd look into asymmetry sometimes because our missions would go a whole lot faster, but he doesn't."

"Well, if we were to catch them in the act," Maka suggested. "Soul might be gay, for all I know. We'll have to lay a trap and take some photos. Or something."

"…" Liz glanced nervously at the girl. She was far too happy with this situation. Still, she would be useful. Knowing she would regret this later, she nodded.

-x-

Maka was safely out of the room, trying to find a camera and Soul was busy getting something from across the hall.

All this left was Kidd and Liz. Patty was in the room too, of course, but she didn't count at the moment. She gulped nervously, wondering how long it would take for Maka to set up the trap.

They were basically going to get Soul and Kidd together alone, in a small room, and…this was where the plan got sketchy. Liz wasn't sure if Maka was going to take pictures or do something worse to them.

"Where's Soul?" Maka asked as she entered the room, hiding the camera behind her back.

It was at that moment when Liz realized she was wrong. She had the right idea; Soul was in love, but with the wrong person. It was Maka.

(…so he did like asymmetrical sometimes?)

The way Kidd was still breathing when she walked in proved it. Well, his staring for a few minutes and slight blush too, but the fact he still had brain activity clinched it.

Maka's pigtails were very obviously uneven, with some hair left out by accident. Her bands were different colours and one was looped three times while the other two. The shirt she was wearing had only one sleeve that reached her wrist and she was wearing a watch on the other. Her socks were different colours—one blue, one green—and her pants had uneven staining.

There was no way that Kidd could normally look at that and still be alive. It had to be love. They weren't kidding when they said love was blind.

…_uh oh,_ Liz thought as Soul walked in and an evil glint appeared in Maka's eyes, _Kidd loves Maka. Maka thinks he's gay._

…_I'm going to get hurt._

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**A/N:** Humour is not my forte. Originally, this was going to be all Kidd's point of view, but somehow it turned into Liz. And this ending had to be done twice due to word killing it.

I'll be working on a Maka/Chrona for **PointMeTo.** and a Liz/Patty/Kidd one for…someone. I forgot their name. Sorry.

Requests are still open, if I managed to tempt anyone.


	5. Flower

**Title:** Flower

**Day/Theme:** March 4/I dreamt I was a butterfly

**Character/Pairing:** Chrona/Maka

**For:** _AtomicWinter_, who requested this as a pairing, I think.

**Excerpt:** _There was something about Maka that reminded Chrona about that butterfly. _…

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One time, when she was little, Chrona saw a butterfly. It wasn't much of a butterfly, wings still a little damp from its cocoon, and it was a lot smaller than anything she saw in a book. Still, it was a butterfly and she watched it meander around the field for a minute.

Instead of flying a straight path, it went on a lazy, slowly curving route to a flower. Chrona didn't get why it didn't just go straight to the flower, why did it make so many twists and turns that would take a lot more time.

She didn't get a long time to ponder. Her mother came, crushing the fragile being and ordering Chrona to get on with her task.

That was the last time she saw a butterfly but she never could forget how it flew freely with the wind.

-x-

"I'm going to take you somewhere special," Maka grinned, pulling at Chrona's hand. It was late in the afternoon and they were walking towards Maka's apartment.

"Where?" Chrona asked, before she could stop herself.

Maka merely shook her head, continuing down the well known route that lead to her building. "It's a secret." Once they entered the small apartment, she had Chrona sit on the couch and wait while she gathered a few things.

She hummed a little as she went around the rooms. It wasn't a well-known tune, but Chrona knew it all the same. Closing her eyes, she listened to the song that Maka would sometimes sing when they walked hand-in-hand to school and back.

"I'm ready," Maka announced after a few minutes, pulling a small basket out of the kitchen. "It's a picnic. And no, I didn't cook this time. It's all bought. Soul forced me to." She pouted for a second before smiling cheerfully. "Now, I'll take you to the place."

As they left the room, Chrona instinctively reached for her hand. She was still surprised when Maka loosely held hers, even though that happened every time. There was something about touching someone, even if it was just through fingertips, that was surreal and magical. At least, as close to magic as she could ever get. It would take some getting used to, even if Maka would sometimes get annoyed by Chrona's constant confirming that yes, she was here.

As Maka lead her down an unknown street, to an unknown location, Chrona just paid attention to their hands.

(This heat was real, this touch was hers, and that was something she knew she would never lose.)

"We're here," Maka announced, stopping at the bottom of a hill. "Now, I need to close your eyes." Ignoring Chrona's reaction, she covered the girl's eyes and quickly forced her up the hill. "I want it to be a surprise but we need to hurry. I don't like cold pie."

There was something about Maka that reminded Chrona of that butterfly. Maka made her feel free, not attached to anything but that one flower. Constantly, she would drift away when the breeze was too strong or when there was a predator at the horizon. Eventually, though, Chrona would reach her flower.

(Even though Maka was nothing like a flower or a butterfly, if anything she was the vibrant sky and always moving sun. She didn't remain stationary or wait for something, she grabbed it with both hands and never let go.)

"What do you think?" Maka asked expectantly, letting Chrona untie her blindfold. She then set down the picnic basket as she waited for a reply, getting the food out. "Hmm…I guess it's still warm enough."

As she gazed at the sky melting into the city, Chrona realized why the butterfly meandered instead of going directly. Even if the route was longer, there was something about those small side-stops that made it all worthwhile.

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	6. Home

**Title:** _Home Sweet Home_

**Characters:** Liz, Patty, Kidd

**For:** I

**Summary:** _It's chaotic and messy but it is home._

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Liz whirls around as soon as she hears the sound of feet and feels the rushing air move past her. He's here, somewhere, but it's hard to figure out where. He moves too fast, not staying at a spot for more than a moment.

He's also dangerously good at escaping them.

"We should get ready," she says as she turns back to Patty and Kidd.

As expected, they aren't listening to her—Kidd is curled up on the floor at the sight of the houses near him and Patty is busy chasing a butterfly.

"Please be serious, just this once!" She is trying to be nice, to not yell at them, but the temptation is too much and she starts shouting. "Get off the floor, already! And Patty, _that is leading to a cliff!_"

And, just as expected, they don't listen to her. Kidd remains curled up, almost comatose, with his fingers twitching. She can see his hand slowly crawling to his other weapons—the ones he brings for just this sort of emergency—and can tell he's planning on blowing up the buildings.

Patty's butterfly, luckily, ends up turning away from the cliff before Patty attempts to fly. She's still meandering around the street, occasionally getting distracted at the rocks on the ground and the flowers in the garden.

Neither of them are helping her with their target. At this rate, they're liable to get killed.

"He's surrounding us," she tries once more, "And he might…" Talk smart. "He might make this place even less symmetrical."

"I…" Kidd rasps, regaining control of his body, "It's…not possible…to do…that." He gets up all the same, slowly but getting quicker as he moves.

Patty wanders a little closer, surprised at the Kidd's movements.

"He's here!" Liz yells as she narrowly dodges a knife. Patty flops to the ground and Kidd gasps at the fact that there's only one knife. A little more serious, Kidd calls on them to transform as he starts running. She just hopes he has a plan as she transforms immediately.

They aren't the most reliable of partners, Liz reflects as they fight, but there really is no one else she'd rather work with.

-x-

Kidd waits as Liz and Patty both take a soul. They're not eating at the same time—Liz is starting before Patty and Patty is eating faster.

They're not dressed exactly the same this time either. Liz's hat is slightly torn on one side (_only_ one side) while Patty has all sorts of fringes of unequal length on her pants.

They aren't even the same distance away from him, with Liz further by a metre to his far right and Patty on his immediate left.

It annoys him.

"Patty, eat slower! Liz, move closer. Now!" He waves his hands in a frustrated manner. They aren't complying fast enough. "And, Liz, make another hole in that hat."

"What?" She takes off her hat, inspecting it and finding a small hole on the side. "Why do I need to ruin this hat even more?"

"Because it's not _symmetrical_." He stresses on the last word, hopefully they will get it this time.

Kidd doubts it though. Maybe he should have surgery done on Liz so her chest is more like Patty's. Her face too, while they're at it, because it really throws off their entrance.

As he contemplates whether or not it would be illegal to get Patty's legs to grow longer or to cut Liz's so she's shorter, he notices yet another problem they are having.

It's enough to drive him mad, with all this asymmetrical-ness going on.

"I'm not destroying a hat when I can fix it at home." Seeing him about to protest, she hurriedly continues. "I'll make a patch the same colour."

"Home!" Patty sings, signaling she's done and Liz nods.

"Go ahead of me," Kidd offers, wanting to watch how they walked. Their strides are different lengths and Liz favours her left foot too much.

"Liz, use your right leg more."

"Wha—oh, for crying out loud," she grumbles as she realizes what he meant. "There, happy now?"

"It's better. Except now your too far to the left."

"…"

When they get home, tired and sweaty, Liz and Patty collapse onto his couches. They're on different sides, their arms and legs sprawled all over. It's not evenly done, though, and he almost calls them on it.

Then he sees their sleepy expressions and for some reason, it looks just natural to have this messy sight in front of him.

(He'll give them a few more minutes, Kidd decides, before he yells at them. Because, in the end, it is just not natural to have something so unsymmetrical.)

-x-

Patty is happiest when she is home. There is always something to do, whether it is to eat or sleep or dance around as Kidd tries to destroy the house again.

She finds it really fun when he tries to destroy the house. Sometimes he uses her to do it and she gets swung around here and there. It's better than any ride. Other times he just randomly destroys things and it's a game to figure out what he will target next.

"Don't, Patty!" Liz shrieks, running toward her. Perhaps this is a game, where Liz is it. She continues to do what she's doing, except faster, because Liz is getting closer and the game might stop then.

"No!"

The roof collapses around them by the time Liz catches her. "The sun!" Patty smiles as she looks up at the sky. "The sun!"

"…" Liz grumbles, annoyed.

"I'm hungry," Patty announces, looking for the stairs.

"…I'll lead you to the kitchen. Just don't move yourself."

Kidd appears at the head of the stairs and Liz groans.

"You…you…"

"Not now, Kidd."

"Transform! I need to destroy the other half of the roof."

"No, Kidd! And Patty, don't listen to him."

Patty smiles as Kidd tries to get something else to destroy the house and Liz tries to stop him.

Patty loves it the most when Kidd turns a blind eye to how unsymmetrical they are, even if it's only for a few minutes, and Liz tries to act annoyed but really doesn't mind.

Patty thinks the best part of being home is coming back with Kidd and Liz.

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	7. Wings

**Title:** Wings  
**Day/Theme:** Sept 2 // Icarus improved  
**Character/Pairing:** Maka, Soul

**A/N:** A short thing, a little quick, but I was trying to limit myself timewise and this is what happens. I still like the idea, though.

Next time, I'll spend more time on it. Promise.  
**Summary:** _She feels the power in each beat and knows that this is what strength is._

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She likes her wings, elongated swan feathers, white as snow. They bedazzale her, memories of childhood and fantasy blending into the soft down.

(When Maka is three, she hears of lovely angels flying lesiurely through clouds of dreams and hopes. When she is seven, she reads of magical girls and fairies and heroes saving the day.

She finds out about beauty and power and wants nothing more than to join their ranks.)

Soul chuckles at the wings, at their delicate nature, and she almost wants to hit him. What's wrong with a girl realizing her dreams? They are good enough for the job.

But they aren't, fragile glass breaking at the strain of her needs. They are not enough and she thinks that maybe, they were always that way. Imagination rarely works in real life.

Later, she flies in the night with her new wings, all steel and black, the thing of nightmares and things that creep in the night. They stretch out behind her, swallowing the stars and the moon. They are black clouds and she marvels at the change.

And maybe, this is what Soul meant when he laughed. She had never been a figurine herself, more mettle and fire than ice and frozen axises. With each beat, with each thrust foreward, she feels power. _This is what strength is,_ she thinks to herself, _this is what I needed the whole time._

She flies with her demon wings and thinks she can take on the world.

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	8. Birthday Cake

**Title:** Birthday Cake

**For:** Kashii Ai

**Character/Pairing: **Soul-centric (mostly), Soul/Maka/Kidd

**Prompt: **Soul, Maka, and Kidd are baking a cake from scratch and discover the FUN of sugar

**A/N:** Uh, sorry for lateness? I honestly did not realize that this has been due since October. I thought, December, and then I thought, FINALLY, I've finished something on time.

...I guess I was wrong. Again. Anyways, I hope this meets your expectations.

**Summary: **_She is expecting something they cannot possibly do._

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She is expecting something they cannot possibly give.

"I want a big, poofy, white cake, with rows and rows of lace," she announces the day before her birthday. "A cake from a fairytale." She's still in her princess mood, wanting fairy wings and magic wands. It's rather annoying after a while.

Her hands tighten on Soul's flannel shirt and Kidd glances at her sleepily from over her shoulder. His arm drapes loosely over her waist and he rests his head on her shoulder after a moment.

Soul glances down at her bright eyes, excited and expecting before closing his eyes and sighing.

Really, she should know better. Kidd can't cook for beans, everything either not symmetrical enough to survive or each recipe changed so that there is some sort of symmetry. He has never heard of the word asymmetrical. He makes food either too sweet or too sour and there is no middle ground. As for Soul, is an okay cook. The necessities—toast, eggs, sandwiches, basic food—are covered. Nothing to be proud of, but better than Maka at any rate.

He's about to tell her so when her mouth covers his mouth and Kidd's hands start--

-x-

They spend the day in the kitchen. Pots and pans lie on the floor, the counters are covered in flour and broken eggs, and Kidd is near fainting point. Half of the room is so clean, all he can do is give a muffled squeak as he freezes.

Soul just groans. It's a mess, a real disaster. He takes a step, his feet sliding slightly on butter and milk. Not only does he have to clean this, he still has to make the cake. Kidd makes another sound, something that sounds like a cross between a roar and a whimper, and Soul realizes he has a short amount of time before the room is destroyed.

Quickly, avoiding the knives and forks scattered on the ground, he heads to Kidd. His steps appear behind him like a ghost, changing from flour to liquid as he crosses a puddle. "That's it, out!" He pushes the twitching Kidd out the same moment he faints.

This is how Maka finds them: two prone bodies lying on top of another, covered in green and yellow. For a moment, she sees themes (the fallen milk cartons, the broken bowl) and thinks there was a fight, a robbery. Then she hears Soul groan as he gets up and she frowns.

"Don't start without me!" She puts her bulging bag on the clean side of the table. "Are you normally so rough when I'm gone?"

"Maka--" Soul tries to explain, standing up, rubbing his head. This going to lead to a fight, an annoying one, where Maka won't let anyone talk but her.

It's always like that.

"I knew you were always treating me lightly! What am I, a princess?" Yes, but Soul doesn't say that out of a fear.

Unfortunately, this is where Kidd wakes up.

"...Princess Maka? Is that what you're called now?"

-x-

She stares at them, annoyed. Soul is frowning, grumbling something under his breath (because he never cowers, even when she is at her angriest) and Kidd is still slumping lower in his seat, sporting a bright red mark on his face. She must have hit him harder than she realized.

Still. He deserved it.

He and Soul proved to her just what she had feared all along, that they were not treating her equally and—

She is over-reacting. Maka realizes this the same time her eyes land on the clean kitchen. None of the gooey messes remain from the afternoon, all of the pots stacked messily in the cupboard, all of the utensils sitting in their drawers.

Between her and the two sits a lumpy mess, a chocolate 'cake'. It was their only successful attempt and it lies there, innocently.

She is over-reacting. Fears and suspicions should never become more than just that, not unless there is proof. And yet, that is what she did, blow everything out of proportion. Like always.

Still, she'll make this up to them. Somehow, she'll do it. Glancing at the few supplies left to be put away, she grins at the sight of the flour and whipped cream.

"Hey, Soul, Kidd," they look up at her, warily, and she smiles widely. "Want to try cooking something with me?"

There are other uses for whipped cream, after all.

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A/N: Before anyone asks, I have no idea what those other uses are and I am perfectly happy not knowing.

Anyways, bad ending, but I liked it other than that.


	9. The stubborn and the lost

Title: The Stubborn and the Lost  
Day/Theme: May 11 // I could be all that you want and more  
Character/Pairing: Soul, Maka, Soul/Maka  
A/N: Subtle hints at Soul/Maka, because they are an awkward kind of love. Also, renaming the fic because I hate this title.  
Summary: _They are hopelessly lost and it's. All. Maka's. Fault.__  
_...

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Maka, Soul thinks, is ridiculously stubborn. In fact, there are no words to describe how stubborn she is. Any attempts fail, her stubbornness is too hard to contain in mere words. No, it has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

They are trudging through a forest right now, her usually black coat in tatters. It trails behind her like broken wings, twigs and grass matting the surface. Her skin is a dark murky colour, except for her face, where the red speckles (the start of poison ivy?) is starting to appear.

She's a lost cause, all right. They've been in this forest for hours, following the direction _she_ chose, and she won't let him just tell her the right direction.

She even refuses to try and fly out.

Why the hell is he paired with a mule? An ugly one at that? If she looked a little more than Tsubaki, he would be happy to trail after her--hmm...that's a nice idea.

"I think we're nearly there," she states and he resists the urge to reply, _You said that an hour ago. And then an hour before that._

He settles with rolling his eyes. It's less risky, he thinks, watching the book in her hand warily. She hasn't let go of it yet. Some sort of fairytale, perhaps. She likes to read the older versions, the heavy tomes full of dark stories that creep and crawl into nightmares.

Her feet must be killing her at this point. His are. And she has it worse, her shoes need to be replaced soon, the soles almost worn through.

When they return, he'll probably have to force her to buy a new pair already. She'd probably forget otherwise.

"I think we need to turn right."

"We're going in circles."

Maka turns around, her eyes short slits as she hisses, "_I know where I'm going_."

"...right. That's what you said when we turned right last time. And the time before that." Really, shouldn't _he_ be the lost one? With guys refusing to ask for directions and all that?

Maybe Maka is more like a boy than she let on.

Then again--

"Those...were to gather my bearings. I know where I'm going." She almost pouts, she's so put out, but she's Maka. She doesn't pout. She gets angry and she gets revenge, but there are no cute pouts. "Do you doubt me?"

The raised hand, textbook high in the air, persuades him to shake his head. With a satisfied grin, she turns around and promptly marches in the direction she decided on.

Soul sighs again, realizing it will probably be another hour or two before she gives up. Glancing up, trying to see past the foliage at the blue sky, he sees the sun is directly above him. It's midday almost, and if she doesn't stop for lunch, she'll only stop for dinner.

Or at least, she'll stop when it gets too dark to see.

(He hopes.)

Shifting in his pockets, he pulls out a chocolate bar, leaving its mate in his pocket for Maka, and follows his partner.

She's lucky he's patient enough to follow her like this.

_(She's lucky he's hers.)_

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End file.
